International
López Obrador says that “there is no problem” with Milei’s visit but he will not meet with him
The president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, ruled out on Tuesday that he will meet with the president of Argentina, Javier Milei, who will travel to the country on August 24 to participate in the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), although he said that “there is no problem” with his visit.
“No, no (I’m going to meet with him), but there’s no problem, he can come. When he has moved to the United States, he requests permission to use airspace, anyone has never been denied,” the president emphasized during his morning press conference.
López Obrador thus referred to the announcement made on Monday by the organizers of the CPAC, the largest and most influential forum of right-wing movements in the world, that one of the main speakers confirmed at the forum in Mexico City will be Milei.
The president assured that this type of meeting is “something normal” in Mexico, since it is a country of freedoms.
“Anyone can come, president, opposition leader, representative of the right-wing blocs in the world and this is a free country, there is no censorship, there is no persecution, there are full freedoms,” he said.
However, he insisted that he will not meet with the Argentine president.
“Because I do not agree with his way of thinking and his way of being, however, he is free and one thing is the Government of Mexico, and another thing is the people of Mexico, and our people have always been very hospitable, fraternal and respectful,” he said.
The CPAC Mexico, organized by Mexican actor and activist Eduardo Verástegui, reported on Monday in a statement that Milei will attend the meeting to present “a firm message about the urgent need to continue fighting for freedom in Latin America and the world.”
The text anticipated that his speech will be one of “the culminating moments of the event, attracting the attention of conservative leaders and defenders of freedom throughout the region.”
The CPAC, of American origin, is an annual political conference of social actors that raise conservative positions and is considered one of the political arms of the candidate for the presidency of the United States. Donald Trump.
Outside the United States, the CPAC was founded in 2019 in Brazil, where last July Milei closed the event.
In 2022 it began in Mexico, where the most visible leader is the actor, producer and former presidential candidate Eduardo Vérastegui, who has been characterized by his political alliances with Trump and promoting the extreme right and conservative discourse in the country.
The participation will occur in the midst of the distancing of the Argentine from López Obrador, because in April Milei called him “ignorant” in an interview with CNN en Español, to which the Mexican replied: “I still don’t understand how the Argentine people being so intelligent voted for him.”
International
Mexican government prioritizes 191 communities after deadly floods
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed on Wednesday that the death toll from recent rains and floods across several central states has risen to 66, while the federal government has activated air bridges and prioritized assistance in 191 isolated communities.
“Unfortunately, 66 people have died, and 75 remain missing,” the president said during her morning press conference. She added that the official death toll will be updated later in a new report.
As of Tuesday, authorities had reported 64 fatalities. Sheinbaum also announced the creation of a public information center to centralize official data on the deceased, missing persons, damaged homes, and cut-off communities.
According to the president, the number of missing persons has decreased thanks to coordination with state authorities.
“Through calls to phone line 079, 103 people who had been reported missing have now been located,” she explained.
Priority Municipalities
The president noted that the federal government has classified 191 communities as ‘priority’, a designation based mainly on the percentage of homes affected.
International
New road and bridge explosions raise alarm amid indigenous protests in Ecuador
Ecuadorian authorities are investigating two explosions that occurred early Wednesday, one on a road in the southern part of the country and another under a bridge in Guayas province. These incidents follow the car bomb explosion in the coastal city of Guayaquil, also in Guayas, which occurred the day before and left one person dead and 30 injured.
Press reports indicate that one person was injured and several vehicles were damaged in the explosion on the Cuenca-Girón-Pasaje road in the south.
“Besides yesterday’s explosion in Guayaquil, we have received reports of explosives placed on bridges along the Guayaquil-Machala and Machala-Cuenca routes to disrupt traffic,” said Roberto Luque, Minister of Infrastructure and Transport (MIT).
On his X social media account, Luque reported that authorities have been deployed to the sites to assess the damage and determine the current condition of the structures.
“What they haven’t achieved with their call for a strike, some are trying to achieve through terrorism,” he stated, referring to the 24 days of protests organized by the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities (Conaie) against rising diesel prices and other demands.
The protests, called at a national level, have Imbabura province as their epicenter. Roadblocks have also been reported in the northern part of Pichincha province, whose capital is Quito, while activities in the rest of the country continue normally.
International
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Ecuador’s Armed Forces carried out an operation on Monday — including airstrikes — against illegal mining in the town of Buenos Aires, in the country’s north, Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo reported.
The mountainous, gold-rich area has been a hotspot for illegal mining since 2017, located in the Andean province of Imbabura.
In 2019, former president Lenín Moreno deployed around 2,400 soldiers to the region in an attempt to curb the illegal activity. “The operation began with mortar fire, followed by gunfire and bombing runs by Supertucano aircraft,” Loffredo said in a video released by the Defense Ministry.
He added that the operation would continue on Tuesday with patrols across the area to locate possible members of “irregular armed groups that may have crossed from the Colombian border.”
The Armed Forces stated on X that the intervention focused on the “complete elimination of multiple illegal mining tunnels” in the areas known as Mina Nueva and Mina Vieja.
The operation coincided with the deployment of a military and police convoy into Imbabura, which has been the epicenter of protests against President Daniel Noboa since September 22, following his decision to scrap the diesel subsidy.
Mexican government prioritizes 191 communities after deadly floods
New road and bridge explosions raise alarm amid indigenous protests in Ecuador
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
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